Still stuck, but limping on far past its original mission

Unlucky Mars rover faces worst jam yet: Spirit starts its seventh year on Red Planet still stuck in a sand trap

Though the prognosis of getting Spirit out looks bleak, scientists are not ready to give up yet. But if they exhaust all escape options, they will switch to Plan B and try to tilt the rover to the north where it can get more sunshine to keep running so that it can continue to do science in one spot.

“If we can’t get the rover unstuck, it will become a Mars lander,” Callas said.

Unlike a rover, which performs science experiments as it roams, a lander studies its surroundings while stationary.

I really do hope they can get Spirit unstuck, but even if not, it's done remarkably well considering it was meant for a three-month mission and it's entering it's seventh year. It's really a sort of 'little rover that could'.

You can keep up with Spirit and her sister rover Opportunity at http://twitter.com/MarsRovers.